Sweet Sixteen
by Agent Yoko
Summary: Just a little piece on Ryou's feelings about his birthday. I guess I should've mentioned earlier that this is one-shot and AU.


Yokomon52: Happy birthday Ryou! *glomps him*  
  
Ryou: *gasps* Can't...breathe...need...air...  
  
Yami: Kindly give him the gift of life and release him.  
  
Yokomon52: Oh! sorry Ryou!  
  
Ryou: *rubs his neck* S'okay...  
  
Yami: Yokomon52 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, no matter how much she likes it.  
  
//...//= Yami to Yugi   
  
/.../= Yugi to Yami  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sweet Sixteen  
  
One brown eye opened in response to the bright sunlight streaming through a large window.  
  
The eye closed again and the teen that it was attached to rolled over on his stomach to try and sleep a little more.   
  
Unfortunately, the teen didn't realize that he was on the edge of his bed, and he crashed down onto the floor.  
  
"Ow..." the teen groaned and rubbed his back.   
  
He looked at his alarm clock and realized that he had better get up anyway. Then he looked at his calendar and realized what day it was.  
  
"Oh no...not September 2nd..." he ran his hand through his soft silver hair. "And most people would be happy to wake up and remember that it was their 16th birthday." He mumbled to himself.  
  
You see, this boy was not happy about turning sixteen because he would not be able to celebrate it with the only family member that he was constantly in contact with: his father, also his only living relative.  
  
"And if I was turning six, then I would walk downstairs and be greeted by my mother, who would have a cheery, 'Happy birthday, Ryou!' or we would at least still be living in London. But no, dad had to move the two of us to the hell hole called Domino City, and mom had to get hit by a drunk driver. Ah well. At least I have my sanity." he said as he walked down the stairs.  
  
He pulled himself a can of Coke(r) out of the fridge. "Happy birthday to me." He said as he raised the can, as if to make a toast.  
  
"HEY RYOU, IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL!!!!" the teen called Ryou heard one of his friend's voices say through his front door.  
  
"I'm coming, don't get exited." Ryou said as he made his way to the front door, grabbing his book bag along the way.  
  
"Morning, Ryou!" four different voices greeted him.  
  
"Hi." he replied, in a grumpy manner.  
  
"So Ryou, did you finish the Science homework?" Joey asked him as they started off to school.  
  
"Yes, Joey, but I'm not telling you my answers."   
  
Tea turned to Yugi. "Have you noticed that Ryou's in an unnaturally bad mood today?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes, but today is his birthday, and I'm pretty sure that his dad is still out of town. That would put me in a bad mood, too."  
  
//Yeah, right.//  
  
/What do you mean by that?/  
  
//Nothing. But you're so cheerful all the time...//(A/N: Except in Battle City.)  
  
"Well anyway, Tea, I was thinking that maybe after school, we could..."  
  
"YUGI!!" Tristan shouted.  
  
Yugi stopped in mid-step. "What?"  
  
"You were about to run in to a brick wall." Joey told him.  
  
Yugi looked in front of him, where, indeed, there was the rather large brick wall of Domino High staring back at him.  
  
***time passes***  
  
"I am so glad that we had a substitute in Science today." Joey said as he shoved his books in his locker after the final bell rang.  
  
"You only say that because now you have an extra day to finish last night's homework." Tristan told him.  
  
"Yeah, so?" Joey responded.  
  
All the time that this little conversation was going on, Tea and Yugi were having a conversation of their own, concerning something after school.   
  
Ryou was paying no attention to any of this, of course. He was too busy thinking of ways that today sucked. 'First off, Joey was bugging me for the answers to the Science homework. Then, I was forced to use the public shower in the gym because we got muddy out on the track because it had to rain last night. Next...'  
  
Ryou 's thoughts were interrupted by Yugi shaking his shoulder. "Wha?" he asked in a daze.  
  
"I was asking you if you wanted to come over to the Game Shop at 4:00, after I've finished with my chores." Yugi told him.  
  
"Um, sure..." Ryou responded.  
  
After walking home, changing out of his school clothes, and then having the neglected Coke(r) from this morning, Ryou set out for the game shop.  
  
When he arrived, he had to ring the doorbell twice before an out-of-breath Yugi opened the door. "Oh, Ryou, come in."  
  
"Hi, Yugi. Why's it so dark in here?" Ryou asked.  
  
It was indeed dark in the Motou living room. "Well, I'm not sure, but why don't you turn a light on? You're closer than I am." Yugi stated.  
  
"Alright then..." Ryou said as he ran his hand along the wall to find the light switch.  
  
He flicked the light on, and was greeted by an enthusiastic, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYOU!!!" by his friends.  
  
"Wow! how did you know that today was my birthday?" Ryou asked, in total shock.  
  
"Yugi told us! Now, have some cake!" Serenity offered.  
  
"Yeah, once I remembered that today was your birthday, I rounded up this lively group." (Seto snorted at the 'lively' remark.) Yugi explained.  
  
Over all the noise of Joey, Tristan, Mai, and Seto having a three-way discussion, it was a miracle that Ryou could hear his cell phone ringing.  
  
"Hello?" he answered.  
  
"Ryou? It sounds like you're at some kind of party." An all too familiar voice responded.  
  
"Dad? You remembered to call!" Ryou exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, I did. And I know that you're disappointed at not being able to have the your traditional birthday..."   
  
Ryou cut him off. "Now, dad, why would I be disappointed on my birthday?"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Yokomon52: Sorry if this seemed a little sloppy, I wrote it in two hours!  
  
Ryou: And just so you know, Yokomon52 has finally started on the next chapter of Just What I Need!  
  
Yokomon52: Anyway, R&R!! 


End file.
